Top 10 Military Rifles

Despite drastic changes in battlefield tactics and absurd advancements in weapon technologies, a rifle still remains a soldier’s best and closest companion. It all started in the 15th century and continues to survive with ever more firepower to this day. Today, we take a look at the 10 best combat rifles of all time.

No 10. M14 – USA

Type

Semi or Fully Automatic Rifle

Caliber

7.62 x 51 mm

Muzzle Velocity

Approximately 2,799 feet per second

Rate of Fire

700-750 rounds per minute

At the end of World War II, the US army decided to make a weapon that could serve with multiple kinds of ammos. The M14 was first fielded in 1957 and it was used heavily in the Vietnam War. It was eventually phased out in favor of the M16, which was lighter in weight compared to the M14.

No 9. STURMGEWEHR 44 – Germany

Type

Semi or Fully Automatic Assault Rifle

Caliber

7.92 x 33 mm

Muzzle Velocity

Approximately 2,133 feet per second

Rate of Fire

500 rounds per minute

During the 2nd World War, in response to the Russian automatic weapons, the Germans came up with the revolutionary STURMGEWEHR 44. Its shorter 7.92 mm rounds allowed for enough automatic fire but it couldn’t play any significant role in the war due to its late introduction.

garand: Yeah, love that SKS pic! And I think that there has been a grave omission: the Mosin Nagant surely deserves a spot on the list as the longest-lived military rifle. Introduced in 1891, and used in battle through the 70’s and probably later, it was probably also the one of which the most units were manufactured, numbering in the tens of millions.

Nice to see a list that doesn’t go all crazy about overrated HK rifles. I don’t know what the SMLE was doing on here though. The British used it through WW2, but were trying to get rid of it before WW1. It was unreliable in feeding, and the receiver would stretch after prolonged use making it useless. It did have a pretty good magazine capacity though, I don’t know what you meant by “high rate of fire though” (hint: its a bolt action).

The STG 44 was recoil operated and the AK47 was gas operated.
They didnt fire the same ammo. You cant say that the AK47 was based on the STG… Because it wasnt!!! Ask Michael Kalasnikov and he will say that his guns have nothing to do with the STG

The original AK had as many problems as the First 16s also your fucking retarded the USSR switched to the AKM only 3 years later because the 47 was a piece of shit most 47s ar AKMs and in 1974 they shrunk the round because 7mm sucks donkey dick

Billybob, the rate of fire statistic for all weapons, even bolt action ones are given on the basis of what that weapon’s rate of fire would be if it didn’t have to reload and bolting the rifle was as efficient as possible. Some weapons bolt farther back, or have more resistance, therefore making the rate of fire variable.

Idiot… The STG44 WAS gas operated. All Kalashnikov did was to make it sturdier and of lower caliber.
And the 7.62mm caliber is one of the best in the world. That is why the russian spetznaz requested new rifles chambered for 7.62 (see the AK 100 series). Also, why do you think SOCOM had a weapon made for 7.62*51mm? (scar)

the #1 is wrong. the greatest military rifle of all time is the mosin nagat. it is a rifle that has been in service over 100 years, has fought against itself and won every time, can be used as a club when out of ammunition, and works perfectly every time, even though the last time it was cleaned was in Berlin 1945. Oh yeah, they also cost only ~$100 at any shop

I see a few things wrong with this ranking. The Ak-47 does not really deserve the #1 spot. Sure it’s reliable in harsh conditions but its construction sacrifices a lot of accuracy. Quite frankly the reason it’s gotten so many kills is due to them Middle Eastern crazies getting the jump on opposing soldiers. The M16’s a great weapon, but it doesn’t really get the #2 spot either. I should know, I used to work with the thing. Even when clean it’s prone to jamming, and if you get a little bit of dirt or if you use it enough it will start jamming on you constantly, no matter what you do. I’m just glad one mishap I had involved training blanks.

Second if not first is not M-16, the best gun everywhere and everytime is Czechoslovak submachine M-58. Looks similar to AK-47, but is not of parts stamped sheet of tin but casts of steel – and slightly another mechanism…

Why isn’t the M416 in this list? It is a German improvement of the M4 and M16 rifles and is far less prone to jamming and breaking. Also, the Mosin Nagant, M60, McMillan Tac-50, The M1911(It has been is use by the military for more than 100 years)should be on this list. There are numerous other guns that should be on this list.

The AK-47 had little to do with the StG44, as is apparent when you look beneath the surface. The Soviets developed the first assault rifle in 1915, the Fedorov Avtomat, so the technology was already there.

You could argue that the AK was a development of just about any wartime automatic design, although Kalashnikov always denied that he had copied anyone else’s designs. The superficial resemblance to the StG44 makes comparisons inevitable.

don’t worry, the guy who made this is a call of duty player. he can’t possibly know anything about real guns. with the all those guns in front of the aug? and the enfield in front of the garand?. tisk tisk noob. go to 4chan.org/k/ you will get the crap knocked outa you.

The FN FAL deserves to be in the top 3. It was extremely reliable under all conditions. You could shoot the eyeball off a gnat with iron sights, use it as a club then go right back sharpshooting. It had so much damage potential that it could punch through the M113 APC before they upgraded the armour. Used successfully by many countries in many wars and conflicts, It never got the popularity that some of the other rifles got but it was the workhorse that always did the job reliably and accuately.
BTW, I am a retired soldier and have used many of the weapons listed here. I have no love for the m16 or its variants. any weapon that needs to have a ‘breach forward assist mechanism’ and has to be kept almost surgically clean is far from ideal. Call me ‘old school’ if you like but i don’t like 5.56, 7.62 does the job right.

guys. EVERY assault rifle is based on the STG44, as it was the first damn assault rifle on the earth. other rifles were either machine guns or carbines. so yes, the AK-47 IS based on it. just look at the design. Mr. Kalashnikov actually even admitted that. also, no love for the m16 or the ak. both cool guns, but im missing the SVD and the G3. and heckler and koch is awesome. one does not simply deny that.

AK-47 is garbage. Sure, you can bury it in sand and still fire it, but that’s not all I want in a rifle. It’s heavy, inaccurate, has too much recoil, the ammo doesn’t penetrate as well as 5.56mm ammo does, it’s effective range is less than that of many 5.56mm weapons, and you can’t accessorize it like you can with, say, an M16. If HK’s weapons were as cheap as an AK-47 then you would probably see those all over the world instead.

First, an Assault Rifle is a sholuder weaapon firing an intermediate caliber round (Russian 5.45MM, NATO 5.56MM, Russian 7.62MM M43 (NOT the M1890 used in the Mosin-Nagant and SVD) or the German 7.62MM Kurz)that is capable of both semi-automatic and automatic fire.
Don’t believe me? Look it up in any firearm reference.

So ALL bolt action rifles (SMLE, G/K98, M1903, M1890 MN) are eliminated as are the M1, M14, FAL, G3 and SKS (the term “battle rifle” is sometimes used for them.That leaves on this list, the M16, AK47 (replaced by the AKM with a forged reciever as the original stamped one didn’t last and that by the AK74 in 5.45MM – I’ll just refer to the AK series)AUG and G36.

Second, the Valmet, Galil and South African R4 are all local versions of the AK series, do I think it is fair to lump them together.

As far as the M1890 MN, it fires/ed a TOTALLY different round from the AK series. And the SCAR is NOT designed to be adapatable to firing it. The 7.62 firing it. It is designed to be capable of using the 7.62MM NATO round. AND there is nothing magic in the M1890 MN – it is a typical roun dof its period to include being a rimmed round – a deadly curse for a military weapon (and 7.62MM is nothing more than .30 caliber – sound familiar US readers? – the Empire having a measurement in tenths of in called a “line”, so when the MN was developed it was designed and designated as a “three line rifle”. BTW, the myth that the Soviets could fire us 7.62MM in the AK is nothing but a latrine runor – totally incorrect. The NATO round it too long)

In regards to the SMLE (Rifle No 1 Mark III) being posibly replaced by the P13, that was a result of the British Army being stampeded into it by legions of target shooters who had no idea of what is required in a military rifle and who propagated the myth of “stretching” and that the rear mounted locking lugs on the bolt made it inferior to the front locking Mauser system because the bolt would flex when fired. First, despite whatever theoretical flaws the SMLE had, in practice – as opposed to punching holes in stationary paper at 1000 yards (you are lucky to see the enemy at a couple of hundred yards on the battlefield)- there was no difference. The SMLE had two advantages, its rear mounted lugs made the action of “manipulating” (as the drill book called it) the bolt very fast and that was combined with the world’s first detachable magazine (10 rounds) in a rifle. With it the BEF shot the Germans and their 5 round G98’s off the battlefield in 1914. The German troops claimed the British had a huge number of machine guns, but the establishment was exactlty the same in each army – two (Vickers in the Regulars, Maxims in the Territorials and Germans MG08)per 1000 man battalion.